AutoHotkey: Mouse and Keyboard Remapping, Macros, and Hotkeys

A tool I use constantly throughout the day.

Many programs do what you’re asking. I’m going to share what I use, not just for email addresses or email signatures, but for many other things. In fact, I’ll use it several times as I update this article.

AutoHotkey is a free program that runs in your notification area. It intercepts keystrokes (and mouse activity, if you like), and allows you to configure anything from simple remapping of one key to another to simple text insertion and complex actions that are nearly little programs in and of themselves. The only caveat is that it’s a tad geeky to set up, so it may not be for everyone, but it’s incredibly powerful. Let me show you some of the things I configure AutoHotkey to do.

Autohotkey: type less, do more

AutoHotkey is a free program that can save you time and keystrokes every day. Short key combos can type out long text, like your email address or signature, for you. It takes a little setup, but it is well worth the effort.

Setup

After installing AutoHotkey, you want to set it to run constantly. The best approach I’ve found is this.

• Write your AutoHotkey scripts and configuration in a text file, say “myautohotkey.ahk”.
• Place a link to that file in the shell:startup folder.

This way, the script is loaded whenever I sign in, and AutoHotkey is running and waiting to do its job.

AutoHotkey examples

This might be a little too geeky for some, and I get that. I’m not going to do a deep dive into AutoHotkey syntax. Instead, I’ll show you some of the ways I use it. Hopefully, you can model what you need from that.

Simple text insertion

When someone asks a question and a screenshot would help me understand what’s up, I often refer people to my article on creating screenshots. With AutoHotkey, all I need to do is type “]ts” (without the quotes), which is then erased (backspaced over) and “https://askleo.com/screenshot” is entered instead.

The AutoHotkey line that does this is:

:*:]ts::https://askleo.com/screenshot

You can see why I don’t want to go into AutoHotkey syntax in detail. It’s powerful, but it can be a little intimidating.

• The “:” characters are delimiters between fields.
• The first field, with a “*” in it, is the options field. “*” means to trigger immediately as soon as the last character of the trigger string has been typed.
• The second field with “]ts” in it is the trigger string. I happen to use “]” as a common start for my string replacements, but the trigger string can be anything you like.
• “::” separates the trigger from its replacement.
• “https://askleo.com/screenshot” is the string to be typed in place of the trigger string.

Today’s date

If I need to enter today’s date, all I need to do is type “]td”: for 2026-04-20 to appear; or, for date and time, “]tf” will show as 01:32 PM 20-Apr-2026.

In AutoHotkey:

:*:]td::
{
PasteText (FormatTime(, "yyyy-MM-dd"))
}
:*:]tf::
{
PasteText(FormatTime(, "hh:mm tt dd-MMM-yyyy"))
}

AutoHotkey is essentially a programming language unto itself, and this syntax shows how to use braces to enclose multi-line or other types of instructions. “PasteText” is a function I’ve written that uses the CTRL+V keystroke to paste. It’s proven more robust across a wider range of programs.

My “Do this” closing sequence

At the bottom of every article, you’ll see a heading and section labeled “Do this”. For me, that’s this shortcut: “]aa”. In AutoHotkey:

:c*r0:]aa::
(
<<a wordpress shortcode>>
Do this

<<a wordpress shortcode end>>{up}{up}+!2{down}
)

Here we have a true multi-line replacement. Of note is the sequence “{up}{up}+!2{down}” which, after entering that final WordPress shortcode end string, move the cursor up twice, “types” CTRL+ALT+2 to change the current line (the “Do this” line) to a level-2 heading in WordPress, and then moves the cursor down one line into the position where I can then start typing.

Email signature(s)

I wear many hats, and thus have many email signatures. My “default” is “]gg”, which results in:

Leo A. Notenboom
—————-
https://askleo.com/about – Ask Leo!
https://leonotenboom.com – Everything else

The AutoHotkey entry for that is:

:*:]gg::
{
PasteText (FileRead("c:\Dropbox\usr\templates\leo_sig.txt"))
}

In this case, my actual signature text isn’t in the AutoHotkey script at all, but in a text file stored in a standard location on all my devices, which AutoHotkey reads and then pastes into place.

Arbitrary files

At one point, I realized that there are a) a large number of standard/stock responses I use regularly, b) they’re larger than I’d really want to put into my AuthHotkey script, but c) AutoHotkey can read files. Even better, AutoHotkey can ask what file to open. My “]tt” script:

:*:]tt::
{
szFile := FileSelect(3,"C:\Dropbox\usr\templates","Select","Text (*.txt)")
if (szFile = "")
MsgBox "Nothing Selected"
else
PasteText (FileRead(szFile))
}

This allows me to have an arbitrarily large collection of stock answers that I can choose from as needed with just a couple of keystrokes and clicks. When run, it presents a File Open dialog box:

About my use of “]”

Don’t let the “]xx” format of my shortcuts throw you. I chose that. It’s rare that I type a string starting with a close-bracket, meaning it’s a great candidate to dedicate to string replacement shortcuts, as I’ve shown above.

In reality, it can be anything you want — “btw” could automatically type in “by the way”, for example, or “leo@a” could be immediately replaced by leo@askleo.com as a quick shortcut to avoid typing the entire email address, if that’s something you do frequently.

More ideas

Here are some more ideas, originally from the AutoHotkey home page.

• Automate almost anything by sending keystrokes and mouse clicks. You can write a mouse or keyboard macro by hand or use the macro recorder.
• Create hotkeys for keyboard, joystick, and mouse. Virtually any key, button, or combination can become a hotkey.
• Expand abbreviations as you type them. For example, typing “btw” can automatically produce “by the way”.
• Create custom data-entry forms, user interfaces, and menu bars. See GUI for details.
• Remap keys and buttons on your keyboard, joystick, and mouse.

The approach I’m using — hand coding the AutoHotkey macros — can seem a tad geeky, because, well, it is. But it is incredibly powerful.

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